Champions League Draw (Cont...)

[Cellarite]

the halfy-half scarves will look great on the lads' bedroom wall.

 

[SharstonBlue]

This is a fantastic draw in terms of "the project".

Five years ago we were sneakinginto the UEFA cup via the fair play leage and we had a blast when Hamburg came to town.

Now, we are going to be trading punches with the absolute cream (historically and currently) of European football.

Madrid need no introduction. City v Madrid could well be THE stand-out fixture of the entire group stage across all eight groups. Ajax had a European pedigree we would love to emulate, though have waned in recent years as a major european force - a bit liverpoolesque in that sense. Dortmund are the champions of one of the strongest leagues in Europe.

We may not win the champions league this year, we may not progress beyond the group stage. But In terms of where we want to be in five years time and how we go about getting there, we are well on the way.

^^Absolutely this.

Group D is THE group in this years Champions League. Four title winners from arguably four of the best footballing powerhouse country's. This is the group that will have football fans worldwide salivating in anticipation. The worldwide television audiences for these group matches will be huge.

United may well be in an easier group and may progress to the knock-out stages easily however from a revenue / tv money / commercial perspective, UEFA will be creaming themselves over our group. Who would you rather watch... City v RM or United v Cluj... there's just no comparison.

This is the start of things to come for the next few years until our UEFA co-efficient moves us up from pot 2 to pot 1, us against the cream of Europe... whilst United will play the also-rans and unknown teams. Our global exposure will be huge and Sorriano will be able to build commercial revenues year on year based on these type of matches.

I'm not expecting to get through to the next stage, although we have a great chance of finishing second in the group. But just to see us play the Champions of Spain, Germany and Holland.... wow, bring it on!!

 

[Big Blue Swede]

Re: Champions League Draw

It's been bugging me this post ever since I read it last night. I checked again at 3am after my nightly, 3am piss and still it bugged me. Actually I lost a bit of sleep about it to the point Mrs P said 'turn that fucking phone off because it's lighting up the bedroom'. At that point I thought I best catch some Zzzz.
I never know if you're tongue in cheek with the whole agenda thing, Bill. Some posts of yours are that outrageously ridiculous I just think that they are exactly that - tongue in cheek, (with due respect).
If they're not tongue in cheek, could you please tell me this:

1. Why would 'they' go to all that trouble to make yesterday's draw turn out the way it did?

2. How could the draw be rigged as such so that we ended up facing those teams? Were RM's, BD's and Ajax's balls set to a different weight to make sure the person drawing them knew exactly what to do? Was that person in on it too?

3. You do know that we could just as easily have been picked against whoever else was pulled out, and that it's all just chance?

He's frustrated that we managed to get a hard draw while United got it easy.
Only using the 'agenda' thing as a way of venting his frustration out by looking for somthing to blame it on.

My advice, dont read too much into it.

I'm frustrated that Mrs P got to cum this morning whereas I was hammering like a trojan but couldn't reach the vinegars. There's not agenda there, my balls aren't planning something sinister, they simply didn't want to release this morning. The same can be said for the CL draw. We drew who we drew, and could easily have drew other teams instead. it is what it is though and that's pretty much all there is to it.

Exactly my point.
Aside from the Trojan part, I don't get viruses in my hard drive.

 

[goatastuta]

For the people with the 'Agenda/Fixing' thoughts.
It is right there in front of your face.Rather than hide it,they push it at you.THESE ARE THE RULES! So in effect,you dont see it! Oldest scam in the book.
1. If youve BEEN successful (qualified for years),regardless of how shite you are now,you'll have gained 'UEFA POINTS'.
2. The more points you have,the higher you are seeded.
3. Top seeds cant play each other,(coz if they knocked each other out of the competition,no one would watch the remaining games on TV/there would be less sponsers for low key games ie. cluj v borisov).
And 4. Most countrys have 2 teams,so 1 plays on a tuesday and the other on a wednesday (also for TV/sponsers etc.) So not only can they not play each other,they cant be drawn on same side of draw aswell!

So,as with FFP,(which it ties in with),it keeps those at the top,consistently at the top,(due to easy groups,they should qualify,earning more UEFA POINTS,and gaining more TV money) and anyone who trys to break through will have a very tough time before they do!

FFP,If youve been successful,youve built up a fan base/sponsers etc., more so than someone less successful,thus you earn more money.

 

[bayern blade]

will Dortmund sell out away allocations?

Definately, they will bring a big following.

 

[AjaxAmsterdamManCity]

Hello everybody

As my name shows, i am an Ajax Amsterdam fan. First i felt really bad about the Champions League draw. We have a good team, but just not good enough for City, Real and Dortmund. But now i just think its OK. We will make massive matches of it, wont we? This is just the best group of all, only with teams who want to play attacking football. Ajax has the weakest team, but we wont play defensive with 11 players + the manager all standing in the goal. We will try to make the best of it!

Ajax has had a revolution. Johan Cruijff wanted that ex-players got leading functions in the Ajax-board. That seems to be working. Ex-Ajax winger Marc Overmars now decides which players to buy. Ajax doesnt want to buy a lot of age 23+ players, unless they really showed qualities. Ajax aims for young, not too expensive talents that can still grow in Amsterdam. Because there have been made so many mistakes with transfers. Managers just got money and could buy who they wanted. Those times are over. No more expensive crappy players like Atouba, Oleguer, Wielaert, Kennedy Bakircoglu, Miralem Sulejmani etcetra etcetra. The Ajax slogan 'The Youth has the Future' finally has become the truth.

When you say Ajax to foreign football fans, they all say Eriksen. In my opinion, he is overrated. Yes, he has amazing skills with the ball and he is very intelligent. But he doesnt show to skills often enough. When he gets older, he might get more experienced and become a leader. I hope he will get more brilliant moments then.

Vertonghen was by far the best defender of the Eredivisie, better than Douglas. A bit of a pity that he went to Tottenham, because he really has the skills for Champions League. Luckily Ajax found a replacement for him: Finnish defender Niklas Moisander signed a few weeks ago (he came from AZ Alkmaar). In his first game for Ajax, he played like he had been an Ajax player for years. But he has only a little Champions League experience, so that will be hard for him.

Our defense is the weak point. Alderweireld is OK, but not as great as Vertonghen. van Der Wiel is a bit lazy and overrated. We dont have a great left back, Daley Blind sometimes plays great, but often he is just slow and not good enough. Boilesen is often injured, but he is the best left back we have at the moment imo.

We have enough midfielders. Thulani Serero is probably even smaller than the guy who went to Newcastle, Vurnon Anita lol. Serero came from South African Ajax academy Ajax Cape Town. He seems skilled, but loses the ball too much. I think he can grow better though.

Great goal from Serero here:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.abload.de/img/sereroc3i1v.gif" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.abload.de/img/sereroc3i1v.gif</a>



Other midfielder is Danish Lasse Schøne, who came from mid-table side NEC Nijmegen. For most players, that is a huge leap. But he seemed very confident and calm in his first games at Ajax. We also signed Danish Christian Poulsen, im happy with that because he has experience.

Ajax is tough offensively with 'The Beast' from Iceland Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, young talents Tobias Sana, Derk Boerrigter and Jody Lukoki. And of course our captain Siem de Jong, who always shows the will to win.

Well, i guess you know a little more about us now. Enjoy your stay in Amsterdam, and be prepared for Vak410 Ultras! Lets make two great games of it lads. Good luck! :-)

PS: Im sure that you like the fact we beat man United at Old Trafford on 23-02-2012. ;)

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bm6zCB2Ycs&feature=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bm6zCB2 ... re=related</a>

 

[Kinkys Left Foot]

Welcome to our board AAMC.

Yes we were very pleased with your efforts last year at Old Trafford. Please dont try and repeat them when you visit the Etihad this year!

Now that the relative disappointment with a tough group has settled down most of us are hoping for a great series of games between the 4 Champions and every game and every point will count. I doubt that anybody will be taking Ajax for granted.

May the best teams qualify - as long as one is City of course! :)

 

[superwatsonwatson]

Re: Champions League Draw

An interesting fact if i have done my calculations correctly, last season we played 5 of the 8 teams that were in pot 1 today. We won 7 of the 10 matches played against these sides.

Opps! I think its 8 wins from 12 against these 5. I forgot the cup matches against Arsenal and utd. My appologies.

 

[tomalter]

From what I heard from their fans even Madrid were in pot 2 for a few years when they went out in round of 16 for 8 years in a row.

 

[Dembe_MCFC]

I think this years Champions League Draw is actually very good for the Blues. The fans have the opportunity to visit some of the great cities and stadiums of the world and it will show us how far we have come on an international stage.

I've done a blog on what we can expect from our opponents. Please visit! <a class="postlink" href="http://dembe-mcfc.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/group-d-champions-group.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://dembe-mcfc.blogspot.co.uk/2012/0 ... group.html</a>

@Dembe_MCFC